The Healing Power of Pets

Animal companions give their people happiness, health and independence.

05/29/2013 | By Linda Childers & Paula Spencer Scott

There are good reasons dogs are known as man’s best friend. For millennia, they have provided faithful companionship and assistance. And there’s plenty of evidence they help our health, too.

A Loyola University study found that adults recovering from total joint replacement surgery who received pet therapy – a pet visit and “cuddle time” – required 50 percent less pain medication than those who didn’t. Another study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that dog owners walked nearly twice as much – 300 minutes per week – as those without dogs.

But dogs aren’t the only animals that can improve human health. Studies show that just stroking a cat or watching fish swim can slash stress levels, and that owning a pet may be linked to longer life.

For some truly remarkable examples of the healing power of pets, meet three people whose pets transformed their lives.

Nancy Laracy & Her Bunny

When people say, “My pet saved my life,” they usually mean it figuratively. But Nancy Laracy’s pet rabbit may have saved her life literally.

For nine years, Bunnyboy gave her comfort and distraction from the pain of fibromyalgia and mixed connective tissue disease, an autoimmune disorder.

She carried Bunnyboy everywhere – snug against her chest on a burp cloth. And when Nancy felt ill, he curled up beside her. He became the third child that Nancy, who has two children, had longed for.

In 2008, Nancy developed an abscess deep in her jawbone. On one hand, she had to laugh; Bunnyboy also had a chronic condition that caused abscesses, including in his jaw.

But her condition was serious, just as Bunnyboy’s had been. If not properly treated, abscesses can lead to life-threatening infections – and Nancy’s immune system was already compromised because of the biologic drug she was on.

The recommended treatment stunned her: surgery to implant antibiotic beads deep in her jaw – the same treatment researchers had pioneered on Bunnyboy four years earlier. It proved successful, and Nancy owes Bunnyboy in part for that.

That’s not the only time he came to her rescue. Once, home alone, Nancy woke up drenched in sweat and practically paralyzed from a severe flare. “There was a phone on the bed but I couldn’t reach it. I told Bunny-boy, ‘Mommy needs help!’ and he nudged the receiver to me so I could call a friend,” she says.

Bunnyboy died in 2009. In 2011, Nancy got a new rabbit, Muffin, to share love and comfort.

“People with chronic pain are sometimes afraid of the extra work involved with having a pet, but the love they give you in return is unconditional and gives you the motivation to care for them,” says Nancy.

Plus, she says, “Giving love and receiving love can help you triumph over anything, including chronic pain and illness.”

Jaci Sweet & Her Shepherds

Jaci Sweet was born with congenital abnormalities in her hips and knees, and has Ménière’s disease (an inner-ear disorder that affects balance and hearing),rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Walking, especially up and down stairs, has always been difficult for the 47-year-old nurse, who lives in Spanaway, Wash. But giving up never came easily either.

“I’m one of those people that if you tell me I can’t do something, I’ll do anything I can to prove you wrong,” Jaci says.

In 1997, Jaci was forced to make a tough decision about her nursing job. “It was either the job or my health, so I had to give up the nursing,” she says. But with assistance dogs, daily tasks like grocery shopping or doing laundry are not so difficult, and they help her remain independent.

She got her first assistance dog while finishing nursing school in 1996. “One of my patients was terminally ill and had a German shepherd assistance dog named Wolf. He wanted his dog to go to a good home after his death, and he asked if I would adopt Wolf.”

There are good reasons dogs are known as man’s best friend. For millennia, they have provided faithful companionship and assistance. And there’s plenty of evidence they help our health, too.

A Loyola University study found that adults recovering from total joint replacement surgery who received pet therapy – a pet visit and “cuddle time” – required 50 percent less pain medication than those who didn’t. Another study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that dog owners walked nearly twice as much – 300 minutes per week – as those without dogs.

But dogs aren’t the only animals that can improve human health. Studies show that just stroking a cat or watching fish swim can slash stress levels, and that owning a pet may be linked to longer life.

For some truly remarkable examples of the healing power of pets, meet three people whose pets transformed their lives.

Nancy Laracy & Her Bunny

When people say, “My pet saved my life,” they usually mean it figuratively. But Nancy Laracy’s pet rabbit may have saved her life literally.

For nine years, Bunnyboy gave her comfort and distraction from the pain of fibromyalgia and mixed connective tissue disease, an autoimmune disorder.

She carried Bunnyboy everywhere – snug against her chest on a burp cloth. And when Nancy felt ill, he curled up beside her. He became the third child that Nancy, who has two children, had longed for.

In 2008, Nancy developed an abscess deep in her jawbone. On one hand, she had to laugh; Bunnyboy also had a chronic condition that caused abscesses, including in his jaw.

But her condition was serious, just as Bunnyboy’s had been. If not properly treated, abscesses can lead to life-threatening infections – and Nancy’s immune system was already compromised because of the biologic drug she was on.

The recommended treatment stunned her: surgery to implant antibiotic beads deep in her jaw – the same treatment researchers had pioneered on Bunnyboy four years earlier. It proved successful, and Nancy owes Bunnyboy in part for that.

That’s not the only time he came to her rescue. Once, home alone, Nancy woke up drenched in sweat and practically paralyzed from a severe flare. “There was a phone on the bed but I couldn’t reach it. I told Bunny-boy, ‘Mommy needs help!’ and he nudged the receiver to me so I could call a friend,” she says.

Bunnyboy died in 2009. In 2011, Nancy got a new rabbit, Muffin, to share love and comfort.

“People with chronic pain are sometimes afraid of the extra work involved with having a pet, but the love they give you in return is unconditional and gives you the motivation to care for them,” says Nancy.

Plus, she says, “Giving love and receiving love can help you triumph over anything, including chronic pain and illness.”

Jaci Sweet & Her Shepherds

Jaci Sweet was born with congenital abnormalities in her hips and knees, and has Ménière’s disease (an inner-ear disorder that affects balance and hearing),rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Walking, especially up and down stairs, has always been difficult for the 47-year-old nurse, who lives in Spanaway, Wash. But giving up never came easily either.

“I’m one of those people that if you tell me I can’t do something, I’ll do anything I can to prove you wrong,” Jaci says.

In 1997, Jaci was forced to make a tough decision about her nursing job. “It was either the job or my health, so I had to give up the nursing,” she says. But with assistance dogs, daily tasks like grocery shopping or doing laundry are not so difficult, and they help her remain independent.

She got her first assistance dog while finishing nursing school in 1996. “One of my patients was terminally ill and had a German shepherd assistance dog named Wolf. He wanted his dog to go to a good home after his death, and he asked if I would adopt Wolf.”

Wolf was fully trained, and a trainer from New Life Mobility Assistance Dogs showed Jaci how Wolf could help her maintain her balance and handle tasks.

“If we were in the grocery store, Wolf would help by pulling items off of the lower shelves,” Jaci says. “He could also help pull the grocery cart and, if I were to fall, he could help me safely get back in a standing position.”

With an assistance dog, Jaci felt more independent – and empowered, she says. In fact, in 1999, Jaci, who has been in and out of wheelchairs since she was 15, entered the Ms. Wheelchair Washington pageant and took the title. “Having an assistance dog has given me the confidence to venture out into the world,” she says.

Today, Jaci is married and has two young sons. She also has Jasmine, her third German shepherd assistance dog. (Jetta followed Wolf, who died in 1998.) Jasmine can get Jaci’s shoes, open and shut doors, find the television remote and more.

“Not only has she given me my life back, but she’s also become a valued member of our family,” Jaci says.

Nancy Gordon & Her “Hot Dogs”

A car crash on a rainy Oregon highway in 1992 forever changed Nancy Gordon’s life, leaving her in chronic pain. She continued working as a licensed clinical social worker until 1998, and then closed her practice, unable to work due to debilitating pain from fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis.

“There were days when even getting out of bed was an exhausting experience,” Nancy says. “Pain medications only offered limited relief.”

In 1999, a friend piqued Nancy’s interest in a breed of hairless and shorthaired Mexican dog called a Xoloitzcuintli, or Xolo, known for its body warmth. Although their body temperature is not higher than that of other dogs, their sparse fur makes Xolos feel like heating pads, radiating a cozy 102 degrees. Some people, especially those with musculoskeletal issues, are drawn to the breed for that reason. Nancy decided to get one.

She found a breeder, fell in love with a small brown, black and white puppy with a short coat, and named her Toaster. The little dog seemed eager to learn commands, so Nancy and Toaster enrolled in a two-year program in Southern California that trains assistance dogs.

By the end of the program, Toaster could respond to myriad commands, fetching credit cards, phones, mail and other items, and even helping Nancy put on her shoes or take off her sweater.

Nancy agreed to breed Toaster, and in 2002, Toaster had a litter. Nancy kept the runt, a puppy named Pink who has three legs due to knee-surgery complications. Pink was also trained as a service dog and, like Toaster, is a natural heating pad.

“I have arthritis pain in my back and hips, and Pink likes to spoon with me at night,” Nancy says. “She knows instinctually when I’m in pain.”

Nancy, 58, now works to place Xolos with others who have joint and muscle pain through her nonprofit organization, Xolos for Chronic Pain Relief (X-CPR, pawsforcomfort.com), which she founded in 2008. To date, she has placed 16 dogs in homes, and helps owners through the first year with positive-reinforcement training through regular Skype sessions.

“It’s so rewarding to place a Xolo,” Nancy says. “I’ve seen people who have been bedridden and in pain who go on, with their dogs’ help, to feel better and live active lives.”

What Makes a Service Animal?

According to a 2011 amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a “service animal” is a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform at least three tasks that mitigate a person’s disability. The act also allows trained miniature horses as alternatives to dogs in some cases.

Although there is no officially recognized way to register a service animal, you can take steps to make sure it qualifies under the ADA. This begins by ensuring your dog receives proper training (training programs range from four to 18 months) to help with mobility issues and the tasks of daily living and to exhibit proper manners in public places.

Animals are not required to wear special collars, vests or harnesses, but having these items gives your service animal credibility and lets people know it is a working animal and not a pet.

For a list of resources on service dogs, plus answers to frequently asked questions about these animals, visit servicedogcentral.org.